The Bad

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Rating

Location

Rooms

Meals

Overall

Introduction

It may not be the tallest building in the Manhattan skyline, but the Trump International Hotel and Tower occupies a commanding position over Central Park, with sweeping views across one of New York City’s most famous landmarks.

Location & Impressions

If you have business in uptown Manhattan, the Trump International is well-positioned and convenient. The 52-storey luxury tower sits at the south-west corner of Central Park, adjacent to Columbus Circle and the multi-faceted design of the building takes full advantage of its location, giving premium rooms two views, rather than just one.

Featuring a glitzy gold façade with bronze-tinted glass, the Trump International has classic modern styling that suits its Manhattan digs perfectly, with the cherry on top in the form of the small unisphere near the entrance.

Our first impression of service comes from the exceptionally friendly door and reception staff (although make sure you don’t forget your tip money!) – our only issue was with the hotel’s rather late check-in time of 4PM, so if your flight gets in early make sure you call ahead to arrange an early check-in.

Room

With 176 guest rooms on offer, the Trump International is relatively small by NYC standards, but the large, luxuriously appointed rooms and personalised service make this one of the best choices for business travellers in uptown Manhattan.

There are a number of different room types on offer, including the more basic Superior and Deluxe rooms, all the way up to two-bedroom suites. Naturally rooms with a view over Central Park command higher rates, so if you’re looking for the best bang for your buck the City View rooms are worth exploring.

Rooms range in size from 41sqm in the Superior, and up to 143sqm for the two-bedroom suites. Unlike most luxury hotels, the Trump International offers a well-equipped kitchen in most of its rooms – and by well-equipped, we’re talking about a gas-top stove, dishwasher, microwave and even a full-size fridge.

This makes the Trump International a fantastic hotel if you’ve got a longer stay in the city, and don’t want to have to rely on eating out all the time.

In contrast to the flashy exterior, the décor inside our Executive Park View Suite is tasteful and well put-together.

The floor-to-ceiling windows reveal expansive views over New York City...

...and the rooms also include a standalone writing desk so that you can enjoy the view while working.

Suites generally feature a dining table...

...as well as a separate living area with sofa...

...and a separate bathroom in addition to the ensuite, which makes it handy for entertaining colleagues or guests.

Inside the bedroom you'll find a king-size bed...

...as well as a couple of pieces of loose furniture. All rooms also feature a walk-in closet space and a Keurig coffee machine, as well as a Bluetooth speaker so you can play your own tunes with ease.

There’s also a Sanctuary Universal Charger – basically a box that can hold your various devices and charge them for you, including both iOS and Android devices. Coupled with the electrical outlets sprinkled throughout the room, there’s plenty of options for keeping all your devices charged up.

In our suite, the bathroom was well proportioned...

...yet only featured a combined bathtub / shower unit - ideally we'd prefer a separate shower, but it's a minor niggle in an otherwise well thought out space.

Work

Wireless internet access is fast and free at the Trump International, and the separate writing desk (with a gorgeous view over New York City) is one of the better places to find yourself working.

While we would’ve preferred an actual office chair to the standard lounge chair featured in the room, we can understand that it might detract from the décor so we weren't too fussed about this.

The Trump International also has a fully equipped business centre for printing and faxing (with a Business Centre Manager on site during standard business hours), and a couple of boardrooms that can be hired for meetings.

Eat

When it comes to dining you’re already a little spoiled for choice in NYC, but the Trump International does boast a three-Michelin star restaurant on site, Jean-Georges, that is absolutely worth checking out – there are often very reasonable prix fixe lunch specials, making it one of the more affordable three-Michelin star restaurants in the city.

Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten also oversees Nougatine, a more casual restaurant within the Trump International, as well as the hotel’s in-room dining and catering for events. We were impressed by the prix fixe at Nougatine...

...and there’s also The Terrace, where you can enjoy the full Nougatine menue while sitting under the unisphere outside.

If none of those take your fancy, there’s a huge range of both fine-dining and casual dining options in close proximity, including Thomas Keller’s Per Se in the nearby Time Warner Center.

Relax

The Trump International also provides guests with a swimming pool and health club to take advantage of, with a wide range of equipment including free weights and cardio machines.

With its superb location and exceptionally trained staff, the Trump International is a fantastic base to explore NYC. Our only disappointment was in the bathrooms, but once you look out over that view of Central Park it seems like more of a minor inconvenience than anything else.

I'm pleasantly surprised that the review decided to not mention anything relating to politics. Good. I appreciate AusBT's neutrality here.

I've eaten at Nougatine. Its a very nice restaurant.

That said, Trump International Hotel And Tower is... well... look at the decor. The rooms are large but aesthetically speaking its an outdated Intercontinental. And all the gold plating is just... its a poor person's idea of what the "lifestyles of the rich and famous" are.

Personally? I'd recommend staying about 3 blocks away, at The Quin. Much cheaper (albeit smaller rooms) and you can still walk to Trump and eat at Jean-Georges. Okay, you don't get the kitchen, but NYC has incredibly good restaurants and with the competitiveness of NYC restaurants the prices are damn good value.

I think this is a solid 4 star, not 5 star. It needs a bit of a refurb. However it's a great location. That said, I have seen a few reviews for the new Trump Hotel in Washington DC, and that looks more elegant and refined.

Wednesday, 21 Dec 2016, 03:20:12 pm

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